Jim Sacia

Jim Sacia
Illinois House of Representatives District 89
Incumbent
In office
2003-Present
Term ends
January 12, 2013
Years in position	10
Party	Republican
Compensation
Base salary	$67,836/year
Per diem	$132/per session day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 2, 2010
First elected	2002
Next election	November 6, 2012
Term limits	N/A
Education
Bachelor's	University of Wisconsin-River Falls, 1969
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1962-1969
Personal
Birthday	March 5, 1944
Place of birth	Winona, MN
Profession	Board of Directors, German American Bank
Religion	Catholic
Websites
Office website
Personal website

Jim Sacia (b. March 5, 1944) is a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 89th district since 2003. He also served on the Winnebago School Board from 1990-1997 and 1999-2001.

Sacia currently serves on the Board of Directors of the German American Bank. He previously worked as Chief Executive Officer of Nite Equipment Incorporated from 1997-2005, as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1969-1997, and was a Lieutenant in the Wisconsin Army National Guard from 1965-1969.

He is a member of Rotary International, American Legion, National Rifle Association, United States Army Ranger Association, National Auctioneer Association, and the Society of Former Agents of Federal Bureau of Investigations.

Committee assignments

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Sacia has been appointed to the following committees:

• Agriculture & Conservation, Ranking Minority Member

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Sacia served on the following committees:

• Agriculture & Conservation (Ranking Minority Member)
• Appropriations-Public Safety
• International Trade & Commerce
• Investigative
• Judiciary II - Criminal Law
• Juvenile Justice Reform
• Prison Reform (Ranking Minority Member)
• Veterans' Affairs

Issues

Death penalty

At the beginning of the 2011 session, Kwame Raoul sponsored a proposal that will appeal the death penalty in Illinois. He faced opposition from the Illinois State’s Attorneys Association.

Raoul cited 10 years of studies that demonstrate a broken criminal justice system.

“There’s got to be a point where you try and solve a problem,” said Raoul. “I think it’s high time the Illinois justice system catch up.”

In 2000, former Gov. George Ryan placed a temporary moratorium on the death penalty, which has since been upheld. Three years later and two days before leaving office, he commuted the sentences of 167 Death Row prisoners.

Sunshine Review has an article on:

Grundy County, Illinois

Sheldon Sobol, Grundy County state's attorney and president of the Illinois State's Attorneys Association, said that the legislation was rushed through committee and that victims didn’t get a chance to be heard by lawmakers.

“When this bill is taken by the Legislature, they have not heard from the most important people that are impacted by this decision,” said Sobol.

On January 6, 2011, the House narrowly passed the bill to abolish the death penalty. The measure now moves to the Senate, where it will be considered when that chamber returns to the Capitol next week.

Lawmakers approved Senate Bill 3539 with the required 60 votes after waging an earlier emotional, hour-long debate. However, the $20 million annual cost of death penalty cases that convinced state Rep. Patrick J. Verschoore to change his previous “no” vote to “yes.”

“I was on both sides of this issue. But then you think of the potential cost savings of this bill, and the state needs all of the savings we can get,” Verschoore said. “Besides, my wife was on me to vote for it.”

“Let’s instead put that money where it really matters,” said state Rep. Karen Yarbrough. “Let’s give law enforcement some training that they need to wage the fight against crime. Let’s give victims of these heinous crimes the support and services that they long deserve.”

Former FBI agent and state Rep. Jim Sacia could not be swayed. He recalled that Brian Dugan confessed to the 1985 killing of 7-year-old Melissa Ackerman in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.

“We wouldn’t have had information on the heinousness of this crime had we not had the tool of the death penalty,” Sacia said.

Rep. Robert W. Pritchard said issues of life and death aren’t that cut and dried.

“I agree there are cases that we’d like to have that perpetrator put to death,” Pritchard said. “But it’s arbitrary how and who we pursue in those cases.”

Rep. William Burns agreed and noted that the death penalty has often been biased in its implementation.

“If you’re an African-American who kills a white victim, you’re more likely to be sentenced to death than a white person who kills a black person,” Burns said. “That if you’re low-income, if you are uneducated, you’re more likely to be sentenced to death than someone who has more education and more money.”

Elections

2012

See also: Illinois House of Representatives elections, 2012

Sacia is running for re-election to the 89th District seat in the Illinois House of Representatives in 2012. He was unopposed in the Republican Primary on March 20, 2012, and is unopposed in the November 6 general election as well.

2010

See also:Illinois House of Representatives elections, 2010

Sacia won re-election to the 89th District seat against Democrat Victoria F. Grizzoffi. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary on February 2nd. The general election took place on November 2, 2010.

Illinois House of Representatives, District 89 (2010)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Jim Sacia (R)		26,114	73.98%
Victoria F. Grizzoffi (D)		9,184	26.02%

2008

On November 4, 2008, Republican Jim Sacia won re-election to the Illinois House of Representatives District 89 receiving 34,119 votes, ahead of Democrat Walter Johnson who received 15,238 votes.

Illinois House of Representatives, District 89 (2008)
Candidates		Votes
Jim Sacia (R)		34,119
Walter M. Johnson (D)		15,238

2006

On November 7, 2006, Republican Jim Sacia won re-election to the Illinois House of Representatives District 89. He ran unopposed receiving 28,067 votes.

Illinois House of Representatives, District 89 (2006)
Candidates		Votes
Jim Sacia (R)		28,067

Campaign donors

2010

In 2010, Sacia collected $115,108 in campaign contributions. The largest contributors are listed below:

Illinois House of Representatives 2010 election - Campaign Contributions
Top contributors to Jim Sacia's campaign in 2010
Associated Beer Distributors Of Illinois	$3,750
Powers Auction Service	$2,500
Illinois State Medical Society	$2,500
Helm Group Inc	$2,250
Medina Manor Nursing Center	$2,200
Total Raised in 2010	$115,108

2008

In 2008, Sacia collected $160,640 in donations.

Listed below are the five largest contributors to his campaign.

Donor	Amount
Morse Electric Inc.	$5,045
Roger Stoddard	$4,770
Fischer Excavating Inc.	$3,900
Midwest Golf Report Publications Inc.	$3,575
Illinois Education Association	$3,500

External links

Suggest a link

• Jim Sacia official website
• Illinois General Assembly - Representative Jim Sacia (D) 89th District
  • Bills Committees
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002

References

Political offices
Preceded by -	Illinois House of Representatives District 89 2003–present	Succeeded by NA